Technology Trader

Cat and Mouse at PetMed

PetMed's stock could fall further if growing competition forces the mail-order pet-medicine company to cut prices.

PETMED EXPRESS IS THE KIND OF STOCK THAT LEAVES you scratching your head. For fleas. The Pompano Beach, Fla.-based online seller of pet supplies has grown sales and earnings at annual rates above 20% in recent years -- yet its shares have fallen 40% since March, to trade recently at $12.44. That means the stock (ticker:PETS) goes for a reasonable 20 times the 62 cents a share in earnings that analysts forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2007. But along with all those Nylabones, it turns out that PetMed has some skeletons in...